The UCLA Library Special Collections Short-Term Library Research Fellowship Program supports the use of special collections materials by visiting scholars and UCLA graduate students. Collections that are administered by UCLA Library Special Collections and available for fellowship-supported research include materials in the humanities and social sciences, medicine, life and physical sciences, visual and performing arts, and UCLA history.

Fellowships

James and Sylvia Thayer Short-Term Research Fellowships Thayer fellowships provide support for research in any discipline. Awards are funded by an endowment established by longtime UCLA benefactors James and Sylvia Thayer. Stipends range from $500 to $2,500, though awards vary yearly. Grants in 2012 averaged $998; in 2013, $1,710.

Barbara Rootenberg Library Research Fellowship in the History of Medicine and the Life Sciences Rootenberg fellowships will be awarded in the amount of $1,000. The primary goal of the fellowship is to help to promote the use of materials related to the history of medicine and life sciences in UCLA Library Special Collections. The award is named for Barbara Rootenberg, an alumna of the UCLA School of Library Service and an internationally-renowned antiquarian bookseller.

Charles Donald O’Malley Short-Term Research Fellowships for Research in the History of Medicine and Allied Fields O’Malley fellowships will be awarded in stipends up to $1,500. Researchers are to conduct work primarily in collections of History and Special Collections for the Sciences, the Library Special Collections unit located in the Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library; other UCLA Library Special Collections also may be used. These awards, which honor the memory of Charles D. O’Malley, a Vesalian scholar and the first full-time chair of the Department of Medical History at UCLA, are funded by the Department of Neurobiology in the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

Davise Short-Term Research Fellowships in Contemporary Music Davise fellowships support research in UCLA Library collections in the areas of modern and contemporary concert music and film music. Funded by the UCLA Music Library’s Hugo and Christine Davise Endowment, they offer amounts ranging from $500 to $2,000.

Ahmanson Research Fellowships for the Study of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts and Books Ahmanson fellowships of $2,500 per month for up to three months support the use of medieval and Renaissance monographic and manuscript holdings in the Ahmanson-Murphy Collection of the Aldine Press, Ahmanson-Murphy Collection of Early Italian Printing, Elmer Belt Library of Vinciana, Orsini Family Papers, Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts Collection, Richard and Mary Rouse Collection of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts and Early Printed Books, and Medieval and Renaissance Arabic and Persian Medical Manuscripts. They are administered by the UCLA Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies and require a separate application; application information is available on the center’s website at http://www.cmrs.ucla.edu/awards.

Eligibility

Fellowships: United States citizens and permanent residents with the legal right to work in the U.S. who are engaged in graduate-level, post-doctoral, or independent research are eligible to apply. Research residencies can last up to three months between February 15 and December 12, 2014.

Ahmanson Fellowships: United States and international graduate students or scholars holding a PhD (or the foreign equivalent) who are engaged in graduate-level, postdoctoral, or independent research are invited to apply. Research residencies can last up to three months between July 1, 2014, and June 30, 2015.

Application Contents

Researchers can submit a single application in order to be considered for any or all of the Thayer, Rootenberg, O’Malley, and Davise fellowships.

Applications must be received on or before December 9, 2013, and must include: – Cover letter – Curriculum vitae – Outline of research topic and special collections to be used (two pages maximum) – Brief budget for travel, living, and research expenses – Dates to be spent in residence – Two letters of recommendation from faculty or other scholars familiar with the research project. Please note that the committee cannot consider letters of recommendation from librarians or staff of the UCLA Library.

Application Instructions

Application materials, including letters of recommendation, can be submitted in PDF format by email to <[email protected]la.edu<mailto:lib_lscfellowshi[email protected]>>. Letters of recommendation in PDF format also can be sent by email, either by the person writing them or by the applicant.

Review Process and Notification

A committee will evaluate the research proposals, and applicants will be notified of its decision by email on or before January 15, 2014.

Fellows may be asked to speak briefly about their recent or ongoing research at an informal brownbag session with local scholars during their visit.